Running-gear for vehicles



a 6 h S r 5 6 G u S 2 S E W A H B E L W (No Model.)

RUNNING GEAR FOR VEHIGLES.

No. 476,535. Patented June 7, 1892.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets- Sheet 2. W. LE B. HAWES.

RUNNING GEAR FOR VEHICLES.

No. 476,535. Patented June 7, 1892.

WZZmasgJs. 1710677127 STATES PATENT FFICE.

\VILLIAM LE B. HAXVES, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

RUNNING-GEAR FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 476,535, dated June 7,1892.

Application filed December 11, 1891. Serial No. 414,734. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM LE B. HAWES, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Oincinnat-i, in the county of Hamilton and State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Running-Gears for Vehicles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the running gear ofvehicles,more particularly in that class of vehicles known as short-turnvehicles, in which the king-bolt is placed back of the front axle, theobject of this construction being to allow the front wheels to turnalmost at right angles to the body of the-vehicle without coming incontact therewith, so that the vehicle can be readily turned in a verynarrow space.

My improvements consist in the novel construction and arrangement ofparts to be here ina-fter more particularly pointed out and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan View of my running-gear with thevehicle-body and upper fifth-wheel plate indicated in dotted lines. Fig.2 isalongitudinalsection of the running-gear, taken on line 2 2 of Fig.1, with the vehicle-body in place. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of thevehicle and gearing. Fig. 4 is a rear view of the back axle andsupportingsprings.

A is the body of the vehicle; P, the front axle; O, the rear axle.

D D are shoulders secured at each end of the front axle at right anglesthereto, and to these shoulders the pair of semi elliptic springs E Eare attached by shackles b b in the usual way, one on each side of theaxle. If desired, elliptic springs can be substituted for thesemi-elliptic springs shown, and it is not at all essential that thesprings should be in pairs, one on each side of the axle, as a singlespring of any desired form could be used for each axle instead, in whichlatter case the shoulders D D can be dispensed with and the springsecured in any of the ordinary ways. The only essential thing is thatthe spring or springs should have a direct bearing over the front axle.

F F are the front bolsters secured to the top of the springs E E bybolts (L a in the usual way. Of, course when a single front spring isemployed only one bolster is required.

G is a T- plate made up of a segmental crosspieee c and a long arm (1.This T- plateis secured to the bolster and front springs by the samebolts a a which secure the bolster to the springs, so that the T-plateis rigidly attached to the front springs on top thereof. The segmentalportion 0 of this T- plate forms the lower plate of the fifth-wheel.Immediately over this plate is secured to the vehicle-body thesemicircular plate H, which forms the upper plate of the fifth-wheelconnection, and between these two plates the front axle turns.

6 e are stops secured to the plate H to prevent the axle turning too farin either direction and bringing the front wheels in contact with thebody of the vehicle. To properly keep these two plates of thefifth-wheel in connection and to serve as a guide, ashort bar or arm Kis secured to the T- plate by bolts or otherwise, and has its free endbent so as to extend over the upper surfaces of the upper fifth-wheelplate H and prevent any strain from separating the two plates. lVheretwo springs are used over the front axle, the T- plate is secured to thebolster on the inner spring in any convenient way. I have shown a platef along the top of this bolster, which is preferably made integral withthe T- plate and is secured to the bolster by the same bolts a a whichsecure the bolster to the spring.

The inner end of the T- plate is provided with an opening, through whichand through the wagon-bed the king-bolt L is passed, secured below thearm (Z by the nut g. A block h between the arm (Z of the T- plate andthe wagon-bed gives proper bearing-surface for the king-bolt. The arm d,after it passes the king-bolt, is bent downward at right angles to thewagon-body until the end comes into the same horizontal plane with theaxle, and a brace M is pivoted to this end of the arm cland to thecenter of the axlein order to properly brace the parts.

It will be manifest that the pivotal connection with the downwardextension of the T- plate must be in the same horizontal plane with theaxle. Otherwise when weightis placed in the wagon and the bed of thewagon ap- IOC proaches the axle the tendency would be for the brace tothrow the axle forward and to strain or break the parts. For example, ifthe brace M were pivoted to the T- plate immediately back of theking-bolt and in the same plane as the segmental lower fifthwheel platewith weight on the wagon this pivotal center would descend in averticalline and the distance to the middle of the axle would be shorter thanbefore, so that the length of the brace remaining constant the axlewould have to give forward or the brace bend. Vith the pivot of thebrace on the same plane as the axle, however, the change of distancewhen the bed of the vehicle approaches the axle is very much less and nobad effect is experienced.

Instead of pivoting the downward extension of the T-plate to the brace,the parts may be made of spring-steel and all in one piece, and thespring of the metal will then take the place of the pivot between the T-plate and the brace.

Vith my construction above described I am enabled to dispense with areach, and instead of such reach I use two braces N N, secured to theends of the axle at Z l and to the bed of the vehicle at m.

For the rear springs I prefer to use a pair of semi-elliptic springs OP, as in front, secured by shackles to cross-pieces n n on the axle; butof course a single spring or double spring of any of the ordinary formsmay be used, if desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I clainn'and desire to secureby Letters Patcut, is-

1. In a running-gear for vehicles, the combination, with the front axleand spring secured thereto so as to have a direct bearing thereon, of aT-plate rigidly secured on top of said spring, the cross-bar of saidplate being segmental in shape and serving as the lower fifth-wheelplate and the rear extension thereof'provided with an opening and havingits inner end bent down at right angles to the body with a king-bolt toconnect said plate to the vehicle-body, and abrace pivotally connectedto the axle and to the downward extension of the T- plate onsubstantially a horizontal plane, in the manner and for the purposedescribed.

2. In a running-gear for vehicles, the combination, with the front axleand spring secured thereto so as to have a direct bearing thereon, of aT-plate rigidly secured on top of said spring, the cross-bar of said T-plate being segmental in shape and serving as the lower fifth-wheelplate and the rear extension of said plate provided with an opening atits inner end and bent down at right angles to the body, a king-bolt toconnect same to the vehicle-body, a brace pivotally connected to theaxle and to the downward extension of the T-plate on substantially ahorizontal plane, and rear springs with braces connecting the ends ofrear axle with the body of the vehicle to take the place of a reach,substantially as shown and described.

lVILLlAM LE B. HAWEs.

lVitnesses:

ARTHUR STEM, GEORGE BAsooM.

